Have you been following the same old steps over and over again, but haven’t had many sales close recently? Does your company’s sale process have you asking every prospect the same questions? Do you find yourself being an order taker, more than a solution provider? Well, Houston, we have a problem.

It’s true – you do need to have a crystal-clear sales process, but there’s a time and a place for some grey as well. Having an army of robot-like minions is not going to increase sales. The individuality of each salesperson is where the grey area comes into play. You want to connect with leads on a personal basis, allowing for prospects to trust you which can tremendously improve your chances of closing sales. Companies need to take this into effect when reviewing their sales process, and make sure they are not creating those dreaded robot-like minions.

To help you increase your sales and streamline your selling process, we have compiled a list of steps that may be missing from your company’s selling process, or that you may need to spend more time developing.

Plan. Set up your company’s sales process and individualize it to fit the needs of your prospects. Is your prospect a startup company that’s new to the game? Don’t overwhelm them and push for a quick close; chances are they’re already overwhelmed and don’t need you adding to their stress. Is your prospect a company that has been around the block? Go the extra mile to earn their trust and be patient with their numerous requests. Make sure that your goals and objectives are clearly laid out in front of you during the sales process, and COMMIT to every sale, every company, every time.

Earning the right to sell instead of moving directly to pushing your product can seem tedious, but if you sell yourself and your company first, you earn trust from your prospect, which is critical to the long term client relationship.

Sell Yourself First. Before even bothering to sell your product, sell yourself first. It’s going to be very difficult to close a sale if the prospect doesn’t trust you. The easiest way to sell yourself, is to connect with the person that you are trying to sell to. Remember that they are people too, and treat them as more than a number. Remember to ask them questions that focus on what they need, not just questions that will get you the information you need. Ask questions that will help them identify all of their needs, even those that they may not have realized. Make sure you LISTEN to their answers, this will help you to customize your sales process to fit all their needs. These practices will help you to differentiate yourself to the prospect

Sell the Company. Refer to earlier parts of your conversation to differentiate your company from the competition. This can even be on a more personal level. Your prospect’s company just held their annual employee picnic? Tell them about what your company has recently done in terms of company culture or employee recognition. Both of your companies are family owned and operated? Share that information! Find similarities, and share why your companies are a great match, this helps to establish a trust between both parties.

Sell the Product. Contrary to general practice, this is actually the THIRD thing that you have to sell to your prospect, and it is a lot easier to do if you’ve already sold yourself and the company. Refer back to their needs and use their answers to help explain how your product can make their company run smoother. That is all your prospect really wants – a product that will make their lives easier.

Ask for a Commitment. This step seems so obvious, yet it may be the most often forgotten or overlooked. While you may be worried about damaging the relationship that you have spent time cultivating, you cannot get something that you don’t ask for. Simply, ask your prospect to confirm their buying decision and leave the conversation with an actionable item, this way you are not left in limbo and both sides are on the same page.

So, the next time you’re planning out your sales objectives for an individual prospect, remember to utilize the unspoken grey area. Of course, you need to follow the steps that your company has laid out for sales, but don’t be afraid to utilize these tricks while completing those steps. Remember, you must sell yourself first, company second, and product third.

Tour de Force has designed a solution to improve your company’s sales process by giving you the inside scoop on your prospects’ and current clients’ decision-making process. The Task Management and Opportunity Management features in Tour de Force help you streamline your sales process. Task Management offers tools to help users manage Tasks more efficiently, while ensuring that Tasks are completed according to schedule. Opportunity Management in Tour de Force gives an organization the ability to manage and monitor their sales funnel, and provides the analytics needed to streamline and formalize their sales processes. Each feature is customizable, allowing for a crystal-clear sales process with just enough grey area to allow for your sales team to individualize how they complete those steps to best fit your prospects’ needs.

Emily Corona

Emily Corona is a senior Marketing major with dual minors in Finance and Operations & Logistics at the University of Findlay. She has been a Marketing Intern at Tour de Force Inc. since May 2018.